shut
Americanverb (used with object)
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shuts,
present (3rd person singular)
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shut,
past participle, past
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shutting
present participle
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to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.
- Antonyms:
- open
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to close the doors of (often followed byup ).
to shut up a shop for the night.
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to close (something) by bringing together or folding its parts.
Shut your book. Shut the window!
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to confine; enclose.
to shut a bird into a cage.
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to bar; exclude.
They shut him from their circle.
- Synonyms:
- prohibit
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to cause (a factory, school, etc.) to end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
He shut his store, sold his house, and moved away.
We're shutting the office for two weeks in June.
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to bolt; bar.
verb (used without object)
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shuts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shut,
past participle, past
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shutting
present participle
adjective
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closed; fastened up.
a shut door.
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Phonetics. checked.
noun
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the act or time of shutting or closing.
-
the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.
verb phrase
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shut off
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to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.); close off.
-
to isolate; separate.
an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.
-
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shut in
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to enclose.
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to confine, as from illness.
She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.
-
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shut up
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to imprison; confine.
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to close entirely.
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Informal. to stop talking; become silent (often used as a rude command).
Just sit down and shut up! I thought the neighbors would never shut up and let me sleep.
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Informal. to stop (someone) from talking; silence.
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Informal. (used to express disbelief or astonishment).
You dated her in high school? Shut up!
-
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shut down
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to close, especially temporarily; end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
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to stop operating or stop the operation of (a machine).
Did you remember to shut down your computer?
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Informal. Also shut down onupon to hinder; check; stop from doing or saying something.
He appeared on the talk show to shut down his critics.
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Informal. to defeat or outdo.
The team was able to shut down the offense.
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to settle over a place so as to envelop or darken it.
The fog shut down rapidly.
-
-
shut of free of; rid of.
He wished he were shut of all his debts.
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shut out
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to keep from entering; exclude.
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to hide from view.
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to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring, as in a game of baseball.
-
verb
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to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; close
to shut a door
-
to close (something) by bringing together the parts
to shut a book
-
to close or lock the doors of
to shut up a house
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(tr; foll by in, out, etc) to confine, enclose, or exclude
to shut a child in a room
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(tr) to prevent (a business, etc) from operating
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to ignore deliberately
-
-
to refuse to think about
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to render impossible
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adjective
noun
-
the act or time of shutting
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the line along which pieces of metal are welded
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slang to get rid of
Synonym Usage
See close.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shutsimple
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shutssimple
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have shutperfect
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has shutperfect
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am shuttingprogressive
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are shuttingprogressive
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is shuttingprogressive
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have been shuttingperfect progressive
-
has been shuttingperfect progressive
Past
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shutsimple
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had shutperfect
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was shuttingprogressive
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were shuttingprogressive
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had been shuttingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shut
First recorded before 1000; Middle English s(c)hutten, s(c)hetten, s(c)hitten Old English scyttan “to bolt (a door)”; akin to shoot 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The pandemic has shut down all high school sports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
As with the UFC fight, the IndyCar organizers are footing the bill for a huge logistical challenge which has shut down some of Washington's busiest roads for days.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
The Agriculture Department said last month that it would reopen ports along the southern border to Mexican cattle that had been shut out because of concerns about spreading a flesh-eating parasite called New World screwworm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Burnham said: "The days of making easy money out of waste are over. We're giving authorities the powers to hunt down the people responsible. We will seize their assets and shut their operations down."
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
My mom raised me to know when to keep my sometimes-sassy mouth shut.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
On Nyepi, the island's airport shuts down and internet access is cut.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
"And what if the Yaroslavl refinery shuts down for good?" asked Dmitry, visibly annoyed as he filled up his Lexus after a 15-minute wait at a petrol station in eastern Moscow.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
“If that hospital shuts down in our community, it’s going to be devastating,” he said, noting that the next closest emergency department is St. Francis Medical Center, several miles away in Lynwood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The researchers uncovered a chain of events that helps explain how prostate cancer shuts down this signal:
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
He shakes off his coat just outside the door, then hangs it up and shuts out the rain.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Bernard Matthews Foods has confirmed it will be shutting its processing facility on Shaftesbury Street South by the end of 2026.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“And shutting down Diablo in the middle of all that was always going to be a stretch.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Alex Cooper’s Unwell Beverage Co. is shutting down, offering a fresh reminder of the challenges that can face celebrity brand extensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The couple's nuptials were shrouded in secrecy despite the event shutting down a part of New York City - the most populous city in the US.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Mama went into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
